Robot underwater search of Austrian lake

An underwater robot has begun exploring the bottom of a lake in Austria to try to find Nazi documents dumped there in 1945.

The robot, named Phantom, carries cameras and sound detection equipment, linked to a floating platform.

The project is being carried out by American teams who took part in the exploration of the wreck of the Titanic in the Atlantic.

Correspondents say there has been speculation for years that the lake Toplitzsee might contain documents and even gold dumped by the Nazis in the last days of the war. Previous searches of the lake revealed crates of counterfeit British currency, manufactured by the Nazis in an attempt to weaken the British economy.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service